Honda Jazz : Official Review

This is a discussion on Honda Jazz : Official Review within Official New Car Reviews, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by groom
Today morning this happened in my JAZZ VCVT Petrol version.
Attachment 1417558
from Gottigeri (Bannergatta Road) ...

This is my first post. I am in the market for my first car, with a budget of 8lacs OTR, DELHI. I always wanted to drive a modern machine which coupled looks, practicality and decent performance. Like a host of other informed readers/potential buyers, I was a fence sitter on the Jazz v/s Elite i20 debate. Although i have to admit, my heart always said Jazz (as i have always been a fan of this car from its earlier avatar in India), but the head had its doubts (especially after pouring through the reviews both here, and the video reviews on youtube (autocar India, NDTV etc) in which the i20 just nosed ahead of the Jazz. However, after TDing the Petrol Jazz, my head was convinced to JAZZ it up , since my preference was for a petrol car (given my daily commute will be less than 50kms) I have gone ahead and booked a Jazz V (golden brown metallic) (I just thought that the V MT variant made the most sense, and VFM proposition) and have decided to take delivery on Diwali Now i have a couple of nagging questions regarding the insurance part. Although I want to go for Honda Assure, but the quotation from the showroom is almost 10K higher than the offer online (I want to go with the base insurance+Zero Dep. +RSA plan). I am confused, as what should i choose, since i am a first timer w.r.t car purchase, request all Honda car owners to guide me on this one...is the Assure plan worth such premium? I am also looking for advice on accessories for my new car (reverse parking sensors, door mats, mud flaps, arm rest, seat covers etc). I am keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming festive season will help me get some goodies free from the dealer but dont think that will happen, as the Honda Jazz is quite a hit given the 2 months sales report

Hey, congrats on your booking.
By the way, I did not see any comparison from Autocar between the petrol I20 and Jazz.

Regarding insurance, I am owning a Jazz for more than 5 years and I have not gone for Honda Assure. There are some advantages of Honda Assure as it gives you total peace of mind and hassle-free claims.
I would advise you to bargain hard with the Honda dealership by giving them the quotation you have received from other companies outside. Make sure, the offers from outside have exactly the same features provided by Honda Assure and then bargain hard. You should be able to bring down the premium of Honda Assure to <5K. Else, I would suggest opting for some reputed insurance from outside which offers cashless facility. I think the RSA offered by Honda is superior to the one which is offered by normal insurance companies.

Regarding the accessories, get the absolutely essential ones now and then go slow on the others as you can explore options, see others' experiences and make the right choices.
I would say get the floor mats, mudflaps, seat covers and parking sensors for now. For mudflaps, I think it's better to get from Honda. Floor mats - check the dealer options. Otherwise, you can go for the noodle mats from 3M etc.

Regarding armrest, the one offered by Honda is expensive at 15K. There is one available in aliexpress at$40 or so which people have been using and seems to be satisfied. I think the quality is pretty good for the price but don't expect OEM quality.

Got the iVtec V variant delivered yesterday.
The dealership service was immaculate compared with the hyundai guys.
There were 5 of us who went to the showroom.
Me, mom, dad, wifey and my chottu bro.
Dad and myself were sitting with the executive to complete the sales formalities, while my mom, bro and wifey was running here and there exploring other cars.
There was a cc girl allotted exclusively for feeding us tang
She was running behind everyone with a request to finish off the juice.
Some other executives helped us in explaining the functions, PDI etc.

Freebies:
1. Waived off shipping & Handling charges of 6000+
2. Gave free Mats & Teflon Coating
3. A box of chocolates which we distributed for all Executives in the showroom
4. We ditched Honda Assure and took B2B insurance from New India Assurance for Just Rs. 14000 (Yes, my dad is an insurance employee)

How to get freebies

1. To get Mats & Teflon: Many of us have a habit of going to one showroom blindly and taking the car. Stop this practice. Call for a test drive from multiple showrooms nearby, and tell them directly, other showroom guys have promised this, that etc. For sure, they will give you some offer to make up your mind!

2. Shipping & Handling: Shoot a mail to Honda Customer Care in a required format with all those supreme court links stopping handling charges collection etc. If anyone need a template, pm me your email id. I will forward the mail I sent them for this. Of course the showroom guys will call you multiple times for palpating you. Dont worry. This is just because, after the sales process, there is a feedback section. Honda guys will sms/call you for feedback. If you give anything below 9/10, it is a bad mark for the dealership.

3. Chocolates. If you buy from a reputed dealership, they will give it for free. Otherwise bargain with them

4. Mostly showroom wont agree with you to take the insurance outside. If they don't, tell them you are going to shoot a mail to Honda! Yeah! in their knees. Now, why they don't allow you to take it outside: If you take the showroom insurance at a higher cost, say 30000, 10000 goes to dealership and 20000 to the insurance firm. It is a tieup business. My dad works for NIA. So I know these things. The best alternative is to get B2B insurance from New India. You will get it for ~ 20k.

Initial impressions:

The Good:Looks great from front!
Average from the back and sides. (Gonna fix a spoiler soon)
Front instrument cluster & Steering wheel looks too good (Better than elite)
Lots of in cabin space between seats
Good Indian road friendly RVMs (Yeah, they bend in the opposite sides too)
The GEM, ivtec engine is very much revv friendly and yet fuel efficient

The Bad:
Plastics & Sheet metal quality is heavily compromised.
The plastics in the dashboard & Door flex with pressure
Metal Tingy sounds when operating some switches
Lots of switch gear fake covers and exposed screws.
Glovebox feels delicate too
Meek horn
Not comfortable as a 3 seater (rear) Yes, I mean it!!!
We all felt that, the i20 is much better as a 3 seater compared with the jazz. I will get a tape shortly to measure the seating space. Afterwards, I will write a comparison review in the elite i20 vs jazz thread.
VerdictValue for money? Yes!
Premium looks? Yes if you look at a distance, come with the eyes of a critic and you are doomed!
Power, handling etc will be reviewed shortly
In short, the Jazz is a great car which can doom most of the present gen cars, except the i20 (As per looks, premiumness and feel good parameter alone. After riding her for a longer period, I may change this statement PERIOD!)
Now a picture of the white beauty.

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Last edited by FlyingSpur : 26th September 2015 at 07:25.
Reason: Please refrain fro using more than two smileys in a single post.

I am also looking for advice on accessories for my new car (reverse parking sensors, door mats, mud flaps, arm rest, seat covers etc). I am keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming festive season will help me get some goodies free from the dealer but dont think that will happen, as the Honda Jazz is quite a hit given the 2 months sales report

Congrats ShanJazz! I would say that the first item on your accessory list should be parking sensors. You can either choose the ones sold by Honda or go for after market ones. Honda's sensors just emit beeps. The frequency changes as the rear objects come closer (more frequent beeps as objects come nearer). My dad however feels that the aftermarket ones installed in his Etios are better as there is a voice promt that tells how close the rear objects are (xx meters..).

Whichever ones you choose, just make sure that they are covered by a warranty. And also make sure that the installation is clean. I can actually see some wires hanging below the rear bumper of my dad's car. This is not the case in my Jazz.

Congrats man. I think you probably got the best hatchbacks in the country - Jazz petrol and I20 diesel
I think the I20 and Jazz have similar width in the inside but the Jazz has lot more leg space. So measure and tell us

The V variant comes with dual horns. Check the horn sound from outside or with the windows rolled down. It's pretty loud. Even, I had thought the same sitting inside the car with windows rolled up.

By the way, why do you say that the sheet metal is compromised.The Jazz and I20 both weigh around 1050 kgs for the petrol. Also, Honda is bragging a lot about their ACE body structure. And recently, you saw how the India made Hyundai Grand I10 fared in the Latin Ncap tests! So, there is no reason to believe I20 is a safer car than the Jazz. Porbably, there are some reasons to believe the other way though we can never be sure unless we have crash tests in India.

Will be looking forward to your driving impressions and how does it compare with the Elite in terms of performance, ride and handling.

PS - the usage of smileys is restricted to 2 per post. Please take care in the future.

Congrats man. I think you probably got the best hatchbacks in the country - Jazz petrol and I20 diesel
I think the I20 and Jazz have similar width in the inside but the Jazz has lot more leg space. So measure and tell us

The V variant comes with dual horns. Check the horn sound from outside or with the windows rolled down. It's pretty loud. Even, I had thought the same sitting inside the car with windows rolled up.

By the way, why do you say that the sheet metal is compromised.The Jazz and I20 both weigh around 1050 kgs for the petrol. Also, Honda is bragging a lot about their ACE body structure. And recently, you saw how the India made Hyundai Grand I10 fared in the Latin Ncap tests! So, there is no reason to believe I20 is a safer car than the Jazz. Probably, there are some reasons to believe the other way though we can never be sure unless we have crash tests in India.

Will be looking forward to your driving impressions and how does it compare with the Elite in terms of performance, ride and handling.

PS - the usage of smileys is restricted to 2 per post. Please take care in the future.

Thanks bro.

Regarding width, I just checked the websites and found these.
Width (i20) 1734mm
Width (Jazz) 1694mm

4 cms more. Mostly I am correct, but still I will measure the seats and try to give a picture comparison too. Actually the 3 seater thing is the quote of my whole family, mostly mom, wifey, brother etc who have been back seaters when used as a family car. We went for a movie just after the delivery and there were complaints from them regarding the seating.

Horn is loud enough but the sound is a meek. Like a fisherman scooter horn. Doesn't suit the vehicle. Can you imagine? meek meek Will be changing it to polo horns shortly.

I am not telling, sheet metal quality is compromised. "BUT" sheet metal finishing is compromised. I cant explain it correctly. I will post some snaps though. When we check the exposed sheet metal areas like the wheel wells, panel gaps, door edges, bonnet inner section etc, it seems like the jazz was finished in a hurry. But i20 does expose the craftsmanship they have taken to make the vehicle without any loopholes. I am attaching two snaps which show the irregular exposed sheet metal edges at the panel gaps. The doors actually looks much worse. For a premium hatchback, we expect such things na?

Regarding NCAP tests, NCAP gives 0* to most of the low end cars without airbags of course. i10 is a car of the basic stream. Just like the wagon R, chevorlet beat etc. Honda does not offer a car in this category. Their lower end car, Brio competes with the swift and upwards. And the ratings are not known through. Anyway, I too think, the Global Jazz will be better in safety than the i20 because of the ACE structure. Also, Global Fit has scored 5*s against 4*s of the i20. But, when the scene comes to India, I strongly believe, all these cars will be equal in quality because of the heavy localization.

One point against what you said. i20 is having more weight than the Jazz, but by a minimal margin. The petrol i20 (Top END) weighs around 1080, and the Jazz around 1050.

Posting a reply mail from Hyundai in response with my doubt as an email screenshot. Also, I have asked @GTO to correct the matter

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Last edited by Gannu_1 : 22nd September 2015 at 15:45.
Reason: Smileys = 2 per post.

Even the Swift measures 1695 mm which is 1 mm wider than the Jazz and the City. But, we know the story inside.
Actually, Jazz and City have exactly the same width inside and outside. So, if City can accomodate 3, so should be the Jazz. I20 is a pretty wide car. So, I am not saying it has less width inside. Actually, it is wider than the Verna.
Autocar earlier used to publish internal measurements. Not sure if they do it now.
But if my memory serves me right, these are the numbers for interior width -
Jazz/City = 135 cm
I20 = 136 cm.
So, indeed the I20 is wider by 1 cm in the inside but that's too less of a difference to be noticeable.
May be you can measure and tell.

I found the Jazz wide enough for seating 3 in the back for sure.

Regarding the crash tests, I was referring to the Grand I10, not I10.
And it's not about how many stars. It's about how the entire structure collapsed. Do see the video. Airbags wouldn't have saved it.
That doesn't mean the I20 is equally bad. It just goes to show the attitude of Hyundai India towards safety.

The pics you posted are not very clear. May be you can post a clearer pic in the daylight.If there are inconsistencies in the paint finish, you should not accept it and escalate the matter. You are paying a lot of money for a 'premium' hatchback and poor finishing is not acceptable. So far, haven't heard about this from other owners. Did you check other cars as well to see if they have similar finishing issues?

I look forward to your comments regarding the driving experience with your Jazzy.
And welcome to the club. Never thought that you will be owning a Jazz

That 1 cm matters bro coz, 3 adults at the rear is more over a compromise. So 1 cm means the stress is reduced a bit.

Actually regarding the legroom, we don't usually find any issues with the i20 or the jazz. Maybe because, I am the tallest person in the family, 5.11, and all others are shorter than that. I usually keep the driving seat in midrange in both the jazz and the i20 and all who seat behind me, even my brother with 5.10 finds it okay with his knee not bruising against my seat (even in the i20). Yes, i20 offers the most possible legroom in the segment after the jazz.

One big doubt. The Jazz measures 4 cms less than the i20 outside and only 1 cm inside. Does it mean, the doors of the jazz is thinner or with less width? I am not getting it.

Have you got a crash test of the brio or even the amaze? Please share it. I am not finding it anywhere.

It is not inconsistencies in paint finish. It is inconsistency in sheet metal finishing as i told before. Means, jazz' sheet metal edges seems torn off simply with sharp edges. You can find these at several spots like all panel gaps, door inners, wheel wells etc. In the i20, we cant see all these things. All those sheet metal spots are either nicely covered, or rounded off. No loose hanging sheet metal pieces anywhere. That's what I meant.

Just one example of craftmanship:
Compare the bonnet lock lever of the bonnet. Jazz' lever flexes and feels very flimsy. Even though we may not see this for everyday use, it sucks for being given to a premium hatchback.

Also, now a days Honda lacks quality. Even the Honda city sucks big time and cost cutting is evident everywhere. According to me, the best product that the honda gives from their product line is the jazz alone.

One minor correction too. The city is 1 mm wider than the Jazz. Lol

And, no offence. I own both these cars and I am never biased to the elite i20. I am posting my findings alone. Regarding the plastics inside, I would post some videos soon showing plastics flexing in the jazz at several positions where the i20 feels like a tank.

Still, after so much hatred, why I took the jazz?
My dad wanted a reliable petrol car which offers good mileage, but he is not interested to take the swift. Thus the Jazz. And I love the rev happy engine of the jazz. Yes, the engine is a gem. But the body work quality of honda has deteriorated a lot in these years and the Hyundai has developed themselves in these years too. We cant hide from these facts.

^ Thanks Vishnu.I get your point.
You are the best person to compare as you have the unique privilege of owning these 2 cars.

When I checked out the new Jazz, I noticed some flex in the plastics of the door panel though the plastic quality felt decent enough and had a slight rubbery feel which is good.

The relation betwene exterior and interior width is a bit complicated.Depends a lot on the exterior design. Cars having bulges in their profile like bulging wheel arches will have more external width but less internal. A good example is the Swift. It's pretty wide on the outside but inside it's a different story.

And do keep us posted about your experiences with the Jazz and the obvious comparison with the I20

Update on horn, its not just meek meek but power distribution is not uniform as well. I switched to Roots, thinking better sound. Yes it does, but once you apply break or indicators it distribute the output on all three and horn doesn't sound as it expect to do. Checked with electrician in honda service center he says it will remain like this, its there in City too. So what does that means we have to go for horn relay or what ??

And Honda use single point horn, and these horn can't be used in any other car then Honda. And if you want to change it, either you have to cut the wire or use scotch locks.

Anyway, I too think, the Global Jazz will be better in safety than the i20 because of the ACE structure. Also, Global Fit has scored 5*s against 4*s of the i20. But, when the scene comes to India, I strongly believe, all these cars will be equal in quality because of the heavy localization.

Not a direct comparison, as i20 was tested by Euro NCAP while Jazz was tested by ASEAN NCAP. There are different parameters for the star rating and the Elite i20 was capped at 4 stars primarily due to the absence of autonomous braking system (mandatory for 5 stars in Euro NCAP).

But yes- as you said, we can only hope the same structural integrity is present in the Indian versions, but that is true for almost all cars sold in our market till crash tests are introduced in India.

Update on horn, its not just meek meek but power distribution is not uniform as well. I switched to Roots, thinking better sound. Yes it does, but once you apply break or indicators it distribute the output on all three and horn doesn't sound as it expect to do. Checked with electrician in honda service center he says it will remain like this, its there in City too. So what does that means we have to go for horn relay or what ??

And Honda use single point horn, and these horn can't be used in any other car then Honda. And if you want to change it, either you have to cut the wire or use scotch locks.

Expecting a DIY here for the horn change. For the first time I am hearing that we need to cut the wire to change the horn. I thought it would be a plug and play unit. Also, cutting wires means electrical warranty is off na?
I had fitted DRLs on my i20 and as per the suggestion of my service center, I had to fix it as an alternate connection, directly starting from the battery. I did not fiddle with the company wiring at all. Honda will also say no on the electrical warranty if we cut wires I guess. So I have to retain the meeky ones? Dad took extended warranty too on the car.

Hey, congrats on your booking.
By the way, I did not see any comparison from Autocar between the petrol I20 and Jazz.

Thanks Adimicra. I agree the Autocar review compares the diesel versions of the 2 cars in more detail, yet to find a detailed review of the comparison of the petrol ones, however my initial flipflop was on the overall impression that the reviewer summarized with the Elite being positioned just ahead of the Jazz in totality (i presumed that was true for the petrol package as well).

Quote:

I would say get the floor mats, mudflaps, seat covers and parking sensors for now. For mudflaps, I think it's better to get from Honda. Floor mats - check the dealer options. Otherwise, you can go for the noodle mats from 3M etc.
Regarding armrest, the one offered by Honda is expensive at 15K. There is one available in aliexpress at$40 or so which people have been using and seems to be satisfied. I think the quality is pretty good for the price but don't expect OEM quality.

Thanks again for the recommendations and the guidance!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vishnurajanme

Freebies:
1. Waived off shipping & Handling charges of 6000+
2. Gave free Mats & Teflon Coating
3. A box of chocolates which we distributed for all Executives in the showroom
4. We ditched Honda Assure and took B2B insurance from New India Assurance for Just Rs. 14000 (Yes, my dad is an insurance employee)

2. Shipping & Handling: Shoot a mail to Honda Customer Care in a required format with all those supreme court links stopping handling charges collection etc. If anyone need a template, pm me your email id. I will forward the mail I sent them for this.

This is really useful, i will try this out. However, if this is illegal (assuming there is a SC directive), how is this practice so blatant? Infact i have seen the dealer price list of the Jazz/Elite/etc and invariably there is always a "handling charge" being included.

Quote:

4. Mostly showroom wont agree with you to take the insurance outside. If they don't, tell them you are going to shoot a mail to Honda! Yeah! in their knees. Now, why they don't allow you to take it outside: If you take the showroom insurance at a higher cost, say 30000, 10000 goes to dealership and 20000 to the insurance firm. It is a tieup business. My dad works for NIA. So I know these things. The best alternative is to get B2B insurance from New India. You will get it for ~ 20k.

You are so right, however the Honda showroom guys have given me a long list of comparison as to why they are charging this premium for the Assure program, in my humble opinion, i still dont think the 10K premium is justified. Bracing to take the insurance for my Jazz from outside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flanker99

Congrats ShanJazz! I would say that the first item on your accessory list should be parking sensors.

Thanks Bro, exactly my thoughts!!! I will do just that!!! Any specific recommendations and expected price for these including labor charges, do you recommend i get one online (if so, any specific site?) and then get it installed? Do these online ones come under warranty?

Thanks Bro, exactly my thoughts!!! I will do just that!!! Any specific recommendations and expected price for these including labor charges, do you recommend i get one online (if so, any specific site?) and then get it installed? Do these online ones come under warranty?

Hi ShanJazz. To be very honest I am not comfortable with any kind of aftermarket job, especially those that involve the car's electricals. Due to this reason and time constraints I asked my dealership to install all the accessories (price details on pages 38 and 39 of this thread) before delivery itself. Thus my Jazz has Honda's parking sensors (~ INR 6,000 including labour). I won't say that they are the best in the market but they do a decent job. And trust me you would probably be needing these sensors more than the camera itself (VX doesn't have a multiview camera like the V, but it works for me).

Last edited by Flanker99 : 23rd September 2015 at 14:01.
Reason: Corrected price